2) Ajinkya Rahane is known for his technically solid batting and his electric fielding. Off the field, Rahane also pursued karate and has a black belt in it. His mild mannered nature perhaps masks the dangerous qualities within.
3) He has been coached by the great man Pravin Amre right from his initial years and holds high respect for him.
4) Ajinkya Rahane also represented Indian junior cricket teams at his early age. In 2002, Ajinkya Rahane played for India U-15 along with Piyush Chawla. Later in 2007, Rahane also played for India U-19 along with Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ishant Sharma.
5) Ajinkya Rahane holds the record of being the first ever player in the history of cricket to hit 6 consecutive boundaries in an over in a T- 20 match. He smashed Sreenath Arvind from Royal Challengers Banglore to all corners of the park in the IPL 2012.
6) Ajinkya Rahane had a very rare First-Class debut in 2007, against Karachi Urban. This was for the Mohammad Nissar Trophy, a tournament contested between the domestic champions of India and Pakistan. Rahane opened the batting on debut at the National Stadium, Karachi and scored 143 runs.
7) During the 2011 tour to England, Rahul Dravid was included in the one-day side and Rahane received his first international call. The first assignment was a T20 International, which saw Dravid and Rahane making their debuts in the format. Rahane smashed 61 in 39 balls to announce his arrival. Batting at No. 3, Dravid hit a quick 31, which included three consecutive sixes. In tandem, they put up 65 for the second wicket.
8) Ajinkya Rahane Was praised by none other than the great Sachin Tendulkar in his book Playing it my way.
Tendulkar stated “I had known Rahane for years and had seen how much he loves the game. He has served cricket with complete dedication and commitment over the last few years. I said to him that he might feel hard done by what had happened in his career so far, but should continue to be the way he is, for I was sure Ajinkya would get another chance.” Now That is surely a compliment to remember for life
9) Ajinkya Rahane became 5th Indian batsmen to score centuries in both innings of a Test match. It was the Test match between India and South Africa at Delhi in December 2015 where Rahane scored 127 runs in the first innings and also scored 100* runs in the second innings.
10) During the fourth Test between India and South Africa at Delhi, scored centuries in both the innings of that match at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on December 2015. He was also awarded Man of the match.
Rahane is the fifth Indian to do so after Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Hazare.
11) Ajinkya Rahane scored a fine knock of 103 runs Vs England at Lords in 2014 and India went on to win a game there after 28 long years. This outstanding century brought Ajinkya Rahane a lot of applauds and his name was up on the Lords Honours Board.
12) Ajinkya accumulated a superb 1089 runs in his 2nd Ranji Trophy season in 2008/09, helping Mumbai clinch its 38th
13) It is said that Rahane was hit by three consecutive bouncers on his helmet at the age of 8, while playing at Dombivili by a bowler who was thrice his age. Rahane started crying but after sometime, he stood up and smashed the same bowler for five consecutive boundaries.
14) Ajinkya Rahane took 8 catches in a Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle in August 2015. It was the highest catches taken by any fielder (non-wicketkeeper) in a Test match. Rahane took 3 catches in the first innings and other 5 in the second innings.
15) With a lot of consistent performances in 2014-15, Rahane was awarded as the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the year quite unanimously.
16) Ajinkya Rahane got married to his childhood friend Radhika Dhopavkar on September 26, 2014.
17) In May 2016, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recommended Ajinkya Rahane’s name for the Arjuna Award 2016.
18) Rahane favourite singer is Sonu Nigam while his role models in cricket have been Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
19) Rahane’s dream is to own a Lamborghini and an Aston Martin.
